Koreen: Lowry key to Raps' Success

The key thing with Kyle is he needed to get into condition, lose some weight,” Casey said. “He did that, got into condition. And then [he has] to be a positive leader. He’s done that. Everywhere you go you have a reputation or whatever it is. And [his] was that he wasn’t positive. But he’s that right now. He’s doing a great job. His energy is positive. We’ve just got to keep that going.”

If the Raptors are successful, however, Lowry will likely be a big part. Given D.J. Augustin’s struggles last year, the Raptors are without a sure-thing backup. Lowry is the team’s best passer, and most of his shots come from the paint or behind the arc. Throw in his fearless on-court demeanor and he possesses a lot of things that the Raptors do not have in bulk — things good teams need.

He's not too far wrong. If the Raps are to have any success this year, they will have to have very heads up play from Lowry. If Lowry is playing as Casey's extension on the floor, then effective use of JV in the paint, and a good inside/out game is only going to happen if Lowry plays as effectively as he did for short spurts last year. With a sophomore JV, and an improved DeMar, Lowry has more to play with, to be an effective floor general with. It really is on him and Casey.

Casey would be thrilled to have a guard like Kidd, Nash, Rubio skill set he likes a guy like Lowry off the bench. I stand up for Lowry but he isnt a fit with Casey's style thats why he loved to use calderon at any time possible.

The key to Raps success this season is Rudy Gay. Why? because he's their best player. He needs to put up all star caliber numbers for this team to have a chance. And i think he will, that's why i picked the Raps to finish 6th.

I really think last year should be a write off considering Lowry was out of shape and injured throughout the year. And it seems everyone is judging his game based primarily on last year, because most ppl's opinions have changed drastically since a year ago. Let's just see what he can do when healthy

The difference between Lowry and everybody else in our starting lineup is that, even when having an off-game you still know what you're going to get. Like, Derozan and Gay will play their game regardless of their shots falling. Lowry has that kinda Bargs syndrome where their mindset can drastically alter their skillset from night to night. I think a healthy, consistent Lowry would mean worlds to the Raps.

The difference between Lowry and everybody else in our starting lineup is that, even when having an off-game you still know what you're going to get. Like, Derozan and Gay will play their game regardless of their shots falling. Lowry has that kinda Bargs syndrome where their mindset can drastically alter their skillset from night to night. I think a healthy, consistent Lowry would mean worlds to the Raps.

Ummm....what exactly do Gay and Derozan bring besides scoring? Cause if their shots aren't falling, they sure aren't making up for it with their play-making, rebounding or defence....

I was a fan of Lowry before he was traded for. Unfortunately it was only his skill set that I was familiar with. I was quite disappointed that he let himself go shape-wise last year which in all probability led to his injury prone season. For me it speaks to the character of the player...this alongwith his publicized spat with the coaches in Houston raises red flags in my view. Will he be dependable long term? ps...I as well dont believe DC is a total fan of his.

Ummm....what exactly do Gay and Derozan bring besides scoring? Cause if their shots aren't falling, they sure aren't making up for it with their play-making, rebounding or defence....

Gay: despite playing with 2 all-star bigs, has always averaged 6 rebounds, which is damn good for a SF in those circumstances
DD: when a kid keeps working, and improving his game year after year, what happened last year is not where the kid is now. Have you seen him this preseason? ALL of those aspects of his game are showing improvement enough, that along with his inside game and very high FTs, have had him as the best player on the floor every game. It's discourteous and inaccurate to label him as nothing but a volume shooter.

Gay: despite playing with 2 all-star bigs, has always averaged 6 rebounds, which is damn good for a SF in those circumstances
DD: when a kid keeps working, and improving his game year after year, what happened last year is not where the kid is now. Have you seen him this preseason? ALL of those aspects of his game are showing improvement enough, that along with his inside game and very high FTs, have had him as the best player on the floor every game. It's discourteous and inaccurate to label him as nothing but a volume shooter.

For that, DD is all still potential. You can't say that you know you can count on him to do other things based on the preseason. So I don't think it's discourteous to save those types of comments until he actually does it in the season.

I still don't think Gay provides enough of other things beyond scoring to say that he is dependable even if his shots arent' falling

This is going to sound like a bizarre statement given his embattled history, but Lowry needs to understand how to become a glue guy; that's how he can best fit on this this roster and this starting unit. He's got a lot of tools that a glue guy needs: hustle, defensive awareness and fundamentals (even if his defensive decision-making isn't always there), hustle, fearlessness, the ability to impact the game in a lot of ways without the ball in his hands (steals/deflections, offensive rebounds, etc.). Now, he needs better decision making, and most of all, an understanding of how to best keep all of the other starters involved and engaged, and when to take control. I think we started to see a bit of that in the last half of last season, but he's not all the way there. If he does that, he's going to stick around for a few more years, regardless of what his actual stats are.

But key to the Raptors success? Really there's about seven guys who are all key, because the margin for error on this team is next to zero. Any of the starters have an off year, and this team probably isn't making the playoffs.

I think the best option for this team at this moment is Kyle Lowry. He's dirty cheap and young and still has a lot to prove. Whether or not he's up to the challenge remains to be seen but you have to at least give him the chance.

Plus there's absolutely no reason to trade him right now. At least wait until we see what we have (is preseason an abberration, for example) before we made any decisions with Lowry. With Jose gone and Lowry healthy (although apparently not anymore) there is literally no one who can compete for his job. I heard some people say part of the reason he struggled last year was because he was always looking behind his back. So there are no excuses this year because Augustin should be in the D-League and Buycks came from there.